East Peoria man gets 6 months for beating child

LACON — An East Peoria man was sentenced Monday to six months' jail time he has already served and 30 months' probation for beating a 2-year-old girl in Lacon last spring and hitting her mother, who was his girlfriend at the time.

Matthew D. Baggs, 23, was also ordered to complete anger management and domestic violence counseling by a judge who seemed somewhat reluctant to accept the agreed disposition that had been negotiated by Marshall County State's Attorney Paul Bauer and defense lawyer Hugh Toner.

"With great pause I accept this sentencing agreement," said Judge Thomas Keith, who indicated the lack of a prior record was a key factor in that decision. "The only reason I agreed to this is that I don't have anything on the record that you have committed this offense before."

Baggs had pleaded guilty to hitting the girl in the head and body with his hand and hitting his former girlfriend on the arms in a May incident, when he was living in Lacon. The maximum penalty for his conviction of aggravated battery of a child could have been five years in prison, and Keith reminded Baggs what that could mean if he ever violated terms of probation.

"I would not hesitate at all to sentence you to the maximum," Keith told him.

The girl suffered no permanent physical injuries, Bauer said, but the sentencing order includes up to $5,000 for restitution for counseling.

Baggs was also ordered to have no contact with the victims or family, and none with anyone under 18 without supervision. He has already served his jail sentence, and his probation will be transferred to Tazewell County, where he will be living again after being released with a GPS monitor, Bauer said.

"It is understood he will not be released from jail until that is hooked up," Bauer said.

Gary L. Smith can be reached at (800) 516-0389 or glsmith@mtco.com. Read his Northern Circuit blog at pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Glsmithx.